âWhat?! Ellinor is pregnant?â Outside the emergency room, Marissa overheard Haillie, totally taken aback. She jumped up and rushed over, staring at her grandson in shock, âTheo, is this true?â
Theo hadnât officially spilled the beans about Ellinorâs pregnancy to the family. He was worried that his grandma would only focus on stuffing Ellinor with nutrients, and Ellinor, not wanting to turn down her kindness, might end up overeating and harming herself.
Well, there was no point in keeping it a secret now. He nodded at his grandma.
Marissa was already worried about Ellinorâs safety, and now she had to worry about the child in her womb too. She felt a wave of darkness pass over her vision, her chest tightened, and she found it hard to breathe.
With his long arm, Theo caught his grandma just as she was about to faint and sternly told his sister, âVeronica, take Grandma and let her rest!â
For once, Veronica was acting sensible. She took over from her brother and helped their grandma sit down on a chair against the wall.
Seeing an opportunity to avoid further questioning from Theo, Haillie followed Veronica to help Marissa.
After a moment of thought, she tried to comfort the old woman, âMarissa, donât get too worked up. The child in Ellinorâs belly might not even be Theoâs. She didnât really answer me when I asked her today. I think Ellinorâ¦â
Smack!
Before she could finish, a slap landed on her face, cutting her off.
Haillieâs ears were ringing. When the ringing finally stopped, she turned to look at the person who slapped her, her eyes wide in disbelief, âBalfour, you hit me?â
Balfour had always been a gentleman despite his cold demeanor. He had never laid his hands on a woman before.
He looked down at Haillie, his expression cold, âWatch your mouth. Do you think itâs ethical to badmouth someone whoâs unconscious and canât defend herself?â
Haillieâs eyes welled up with tears. She was heartbroken and at a loss for words, âBalfour, Iâ¦â
Meanwhile, Marissa didnât understand the complex relationships of these youngsters and didnât want to deal with them. She just prayed to God, âOh God, please keep Ellinor and her child safeâ¦â
Just then, the light in the emergency room went off. The doctor came out, drenched in sweat. He took off his mask, shook his head, and sighed, âIâm sorry, weâve done our best!â
Resuscitation failed.
Upon hearing the news, Marissa was stunned. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Veronica panicked, âGrandma! Grandmaâ¦â
After a moment of shock, Theoâs face turned as cold as death, âWhat did you say? Say that again?â
The chilling aura emanating from the man made the doctor shiver, but he couldnât lie to the patientâs family, âIâm sorry, Mr. Blanchet. Your wife was brought in too lateâ¦â